Image Credit: "music mac" by shapeshift on Flickr

It took plenty of testing, but I understand why most recommend using iTunes for music management on Mac. iTunes performs the management without using additional plugins or tools. I’ve previous detailed my requirements for a program that organized music. I felt iTunes was limited in scope and did not perform the tasks adequately enough. In Windows, I had several tools that managed by music collection, one for categorization, another for playing, one for streaming music. None of these applications talked to each other, my music manager did not integrate with my music player which did not integrate with my music streamer. Many times I had to rely on folder management to perform the work I required. When I realized some of iTunes benefits, and it’s integration with other applications, it warranted a second look.

iTunes the Powerful

I don’t need to manage my files when using iTunes, I can have it perform that task for me. Without needing to perform this once lengthy process, I can work on more important aspects, such as tagging songs appropriately. Managing song information is very simple with iTunes, changing music genre’s or artist’s name requires a click and instantly the change is reflected through the entire library. No need to rescan folders. If I needed to further categorize the information I could use smart playlists. This allows me to create criteria for my music and automatically updates as my music updates.

Integration with iTunes

The integration of the iTunes library with other programs forced me to take a second look at iTunes. djay, for example, integrates with the iTunes library, separating the need to have it maintain it’s own library and information. Other programs, such as Keynote, perform the same task making it easier to find and utilize music for presentations. Without having to perform searches on my hard drive, I can easily import music to other programs without having to perform additional time wasting tasks.

Fill the Missing iTunes Features

There are features I feel iTunes is missing. Some can be made up through AppleScipts, a powerful feature of the Mac OS. AppleScripts are automated tasks designed to work on Mac and provide additional management tools (such as organizing music files by Genre). A great resources for these scripts are Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes. I would also recommend using ScritPal, a script management add-on for iTunes.

Requested Features

Although I’ve come to enjoy iTunes, I long for several features found in my favorite media player, Winamp. The first is the ability to rescan my music folder, this helps if I’ve needed to directly manage my music library and remove some items. The second is music queuing. Winamp is able to queue music without needing to create playlist. While the iTunes DJ and Genius are great applications, a queuing playlist would go a long way.